It is nearly midnight and already the Syracuse Department of Public Works has spent 20 minutes between a 50 degree day and a 60 degree day removing snow banks from the side of the cul de sac in front of my house.
I wondered at first why I heard the beep- beep of heavy equipment backing up. After all, Christmas trees had been removed from the curb many weeks ago. It can’t be time for the quarterly pickup of lawn debris since there is no lawn yet to debris. What could necessitate a front loader and a dump truck at the midnight hour in March?
Snow removal during a warm spell in March. Is it necessary?
It’s snow removal. Of snow that isn’t even in the way. Just as I was reading a report on syracuse.com about School Superintendent Daniel Lowengard’s proposal to close the Levy school to help balance the budget, I witnessed the city removing snow by the truckload during the finest stretch of sunny and warm weather we’ve had this young year. Isn’t nature removing it all quite well on her own this week?
My friend the meteorologist Tom Hauf says in Syracuse, “there’s no business like snow business”, and that is certainly true. Our road crews make such quick work of all the snow around here, you’d hardly realize we are the snowiest metropolitan area of the country. Our guys do difficult work during long days and nights and the 400 miles of clear city streets are proof. But I’m confounded by the need to occupy a front loader, a dump truck and the requisite labor and fuel to rush along melting snow while we have to close a school to save money.
Your thoughts?
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{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
You don’t know how many times I’ve wondered this myself.
Ditto for using three pieces of equipment (plus 3 or 4 workers) to scoop up piles of leaves, parking and leaving their noxious motor running while taking their break or talking to a buddy in another truck that blocks the road.
And why do they [here I'm talking more about SU than the city] truck snow to another location rather than spreading it around on the ground to melt in the sun?
Maureen,
I often wonder this myself.But yet I just read an article about not having a enough money for street cleaning.I like the idea I saw while I lived in North Carolina and Florida.”Prisoners At Work”.I saw them on the back of garbage trucks picking up trash to cleaning and maintaining streets and highways.All for a dime a day.I thought is was a great idea to let them do the work and give back to the community they took away from and save a ton of money.But yet I see the same thing over and over.I even see the NYS thruway (4 trucks and 6 guys ) only 1-2 working.Ready for this ?They were leveling up the reflective markers with a 2 foot level.Is there something wrong here or is it just me?I also wonder where the 10% of lottery money is going It certianly can’t be to the schools!!!
Good observations Mike.
…and why are our utility polls being removed and new ones installed by a company from Kalkaska ,Michigan. I live near Nottingham High and there are 4 cherry pickers, 3 to 4 large trucks and other assorted large equipment vehicles on our street for the majority of the week. Why not local? Syracusans couldn’t do that sort of work and help OUR economy? Chain saws do work in our neck of the woods…….
So, Maureen–did you happen to ask your city council member about it? I live in Camillus, and I have called my ward rep when something like this occurs.
Hi Mike, thanks, no, at midnight, I pretty much wrote the article and went to bed, and today I went onto other things.
Emily, good point. Thanks.
Maureen,
Couldn’t agree with you more. I see the same thing here in Cicero.
I’ve also noticed that they seem to use an incredible amount of salt on the streets. Now, I realize that salt is invaluable when the roads are icy, etc. I’ve been thankful many times for a well salted road.
However, they tend to over do it especially in early in the winter season, i.e. we get a few flakes of snow in November and the salt trucks are out in force even though the temperatures are forecast to be above freezing the next day and the snow will disappear quickly anyway.
What’s all that salt doing to the environment anyway?
I’ve noticed that Vermont tends to use sand more.
Hi Ralph, thank you for the comment. I agree with you about the heavy use of salt, much to the suffering of our boots and underbodies — of the cars. What did you think I meant? You know, the city experimented with a salt alternative this year and I think I see a difference. Or maybe it’s just the hopeless optimist in me. In my neighborhood near S.U., I swear I saw less crud on the roads. The fertilizer perhaps?
I know you were talking about unnecessary snow removal operations.
I just thought I’d whine a bit about salting the road.
Actually, I moved here from Montreal a little while ago where they use salt in lieu of clearing snow. Probably because it’s easier for the crews than actually clearing the snow.
Ralph you may be right, however I think the salt is used because it melts the snow and evaporates to dry asphalt, as opposed to just plowing which compacts the snow. I have no beef at all with our DPW. I think they’re the best in the land. I just couldn’t understand why they were ordered to truck away rapidly melting snow piles that were not in the way of anything. There have been enough responses to this post that I’ll call our DPW for an answer tomorrow. Thanks.
I’m sure they had SOME reason to feel the need to do it at that hour. If I were still living there, I’d heartily agree with you. Simply because the beep-beep-beeping would probably be keeping me awake, depriving me of those 5-6 precious hours of sleep I used to get before rising to head off to my ridiculously overworked and underpaid schedule.
Yes Jenna, and therefore, you should come back.
if we were to have a storm like the blizzard of ’93, you would be glad that the piles of snow were moved to give the dpw a place to put the new snow. It’s March and anyone that lives in the area knows that anything can happen!
Cindy, true, March can be crazy around here, but there’s no blizzard in the forecast, no snow at all, just unseasonably warm weather. I think we wasted the money this time.
I’m with you, Maureen! Seems far from necessary!
Dear Maureen:
I feel your pain about the DPW crews. Take a look at what is going on in Corning, NY. The same thing – only it’s almost every night.
At least on your street – the snow will melt soon!
Keep up the good work with your blog.
Tony, every night? Then I feel your pain too. Thanks for the comment.